The Chinese State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office, which released legal guidelines for “severely punishing Taiwanese independence diehards” in June, has followed up by posting a list of the individuals they consider secessionists on their official website.

In response, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has reiterated that, as Chinese authorities have no jurisdiction over Taiwan, their laws have no binding force on Taiwanese people. They went on to state that these actions only serve to obstruct cross-strait exchanges and further damage Taiwan-China relations.

MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) recently described the CCP’s legal guidelines against Taiwan, which include clear provisions on the conviction, sentencing standards, and procedural standards of so-called “Taiwan independence diehards,” as their attempt to “domesticize” Taiwan. He emphasized that these guidelines do not change the fact that Taiwan is a sovereign state whose citizens are not subject to Chinese laws.

About a week after the CCP released their guidelines, the MAC raised the travel alert to “orange” for China, Hong Kong, and Macao starting June 27, calling on Taiwanese citizens to avoid visiting these areas if possible. Chiu emphasized that the Council will continue to defend national sovereignty and empower democratic legal systems.